STRAFFORD — A decade-long effort to clean up a 206-year-old copper mine in the Vermont town of Strafford is nearing an end and community members now have to decide what to do with the area that was once the Elizabeth Mine.

Where there was once an area that was colored a sickly orange there is now a grassy expanse

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Ed Hathaway, who has overseen the Superfund cleanup of the property, says workers have finished sealing 45-acres of metallic tailings beneath a plastic cap that has been covered with topsoil.

The Valley News reported that the plastic prevents water and oxygen from reaching the metals. Federal officials will continue to monitor the site for several more years. After that, the state will assume responsibility.